1. God thinks what I do when no one else is watching is pretty important.Time alone can seem so inconsequential. That’s why we can fill it so easily with seemingly harmless activities with Facebook, Twitter, video games, TV, movies, web surfing; or more overtly sinful activities like viewing pornography, nursing bitterness, or lusting after what we don’t have. But God sees it all. Our heavenly Father sees what we do in secret. Meditating on that consistently is bound to lead to the fear of the Lord.

2. The rewards of eternity are better than the rewards of this life.Countless millions spend their lives pursuing goals, possessions, and achievements that will vanish when they die. Jesus lets us in on a secret. The rewards to live for are the ones the Father will hand out on the last day. At that moment, the number of my blog readers, Facebook friends, Twitter followers, or fans will have zero effect on my status before God. So why are those things so important to me now?

3. Being rewarded by the Father is infinitely more important than being rewarded by people.There’s nothing inherently wrong with honoring others or being honored. In fact, God tells us to give honor to whom honor is due (Rom. 13:7). The problem comes when we live for and seek the praise of men rather than the praise of God (Jn. 5:41-44). When we act spiritually simply to impress others, we have all the reward we’ll ever get. When, by God’s grace in Christ, we hear “well done” on the last day, we’ll realize in a moment the only evaluation that mattered.

Bottom line: if I gauge my maturity only by what I do when others can see me, I may be terribly deceived about my true state before God."